A campaign to hammer home the message that interim management should not be seen as the same as recruitment has been launched by one of Europe's top industry experts.
Nigel Corby, MD of leading European interim management company Global Executives, is calling for a fundamental review of how the myriad supply companies and Interim Management Association members interface with the market.
The call follows increasing concern among IM suppliers that they are seen to be offering a recruitment tool rather than a management resource. And he is warning clients not to mistake the specialist IM suppliers - which deal exclusively with IMs - with recruitment body shops
Corby's recent election as chairman of membership development at the IMA, the industry's professional body, places him in a key spot to put emphasis into the campaign.
"Serious concern exists among interim management suppliers that many potential client companies are failing to understand the nature of interim management and mistake it for a recruitment tool," explained Corby.
"IM is a valuable resource to supplement a company's recruitment activities when their programmes hit the doldrums, the market for permanent employees is flat or resources are scarce. But it is also much greater than that. Covering gaps is only one of the uses for which it should be used. IMs should not be treated as a grade of employee, but as a professional supplier. Their uses in change management, added value and successful delivery must be appreciated and properly exploited.
"IMs are a vital resource when, say, restructuring a group of companies. This is a specialist task suitable only for senior practitioners - just like moving a factory, company rescue and specialist projects where the emphasis is on management ability, not technical skill - where the need is short term and learning curves can't be afforded.
"We believe that interim management is the most valuable tool available to boards of directors to effect and manage change in modern industrial, commercial and public sector bodies. Assignment management is a project come activity based matter not one for the recruitment process.
"Finding the right balance of skills can be a nightmare, but companies such as Global Executives remove the risks, objectively refine tasks identified and review them in partnership with the client. They then find and assess independents who can effect the change without the baggage associated with career prospects and internal politics, which so often mar the effectiveness of permanent management teams.
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For further information on this press release contact Global Executives' press officer Helen Salisbury on 01926 495425 or call Nigel Corby on +44 (0)1276 671535
www.globalexecutives.com